Command Sgt. Maj. William Gainey, senior enlisted adviser to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, talks to a group of soldiers Monday at the Yongsan Theater. (Jimmy Norris / S&S)
YONGSAN GARRISON, South Korea — The soldier who serves as the senior enlisted adviser to a Marine who advises President Bush said that “joint service” is the future of the military.
Command Sgt. Maj. William Gainey, who works for Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke to soldiers at Yongsan Garrison on Monday as part of a trip to South Korea.
“Until the day you go to the field and have joint training events, you are not training as you fight,” said Gainey in response to one soldier’s question about upcoming initiatives. “You are never going to go out on a purely Army mission again.”
Gainey also told the troops that the newly created position he’s filling will become permanent.
He explained that the adviser serves as the chairman’s “eyes and ears” on enlisted issues and works in “finding common solutions to common problems” between the military services.
He gave the example of a recent change to Army Basic Training that mandated recruits carry their weapons throughout the training — something the Marine Corps has done for decades.
Gainey also pointed out how his position differs from the top enlisted positions in each branch of the service.
“This position is not in your chain of command,” Gainey said. “I am not going to be another ugly picture on the wall whose name you’ve got to memorize.”
Gainey talked about the 15-month tours for soldiers deployed in Iraq, reminding the soldiers that the goal is to stabilize deployments and ensure they spend at least a year back in the States after being downrange.
“We cannot break that sacred trust,” he said of the promise of one year at home.
